Alphabet Day Nursery

Alphabet Day Nursery Camphill Centre, Hunsbury Hill Road, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN4 9UW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/10/2013 23/04/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children thoroughly enjoy the highly positive and enthusiastic involvement from the staff in their activities, and this helps them to make rapid progress given their individual starting points.  Children take part in a creatively planned range of very good activities that cover the seven areas of learning and that take account of their individual interests and identified next steps.  Children have access to an abundance of resources and books, both inside and outside, that promote their curiosity and imagination.  The owner and management team are highly supportive of their staff and they work hard to maintain the high standards of care and learning opportunities for each of the children attending.  Children benefit from the highly effective partnerships with their parents and with the local school. This supports their transition from home into the nursery and eventually onward to school.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the four playrooms and in the nursery garden.  The inspector spoke with the children at times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the owner of the nursery and with four members of staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and the planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability of all staff working with the children and took account of the provider's self-evaluation form.

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Information about the setting

Alphabet Day Nursery is one of two nurseries managed by a family-run organisation. It registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates from a purpose-built building in the Camp Hill area of Northampton, and children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 7.45am to 6pm all year round, except Bank Holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 53 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It employs 13 members of staff, 12 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 extend the already highly efficient monitoring of staff's practice and professional development for example, by introducing peer-on-peer observations of their activity with the children.

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who attend

The children in this vibrant nursery are provided with very well-planned activities that are entirely appropriate for their individual ages and levels of development. The staff in each nursery room know the children very well and they are skilled in anticipating their need for a change to the activities. For example, the babies' toys and resources are changed regularly throughout the day. During outside activities for older children, the staff suggest activities, such as a parachute game. When none of the children show an interest, they suggest the skittles, which are an immediate hit with the children, who take their turn to knock them down. The key person for each child plans excellent activities on an individual basis for them. Parents are fully involved in their child's progress. They are asked to provide information when they start attending about their interests and achievements, and the staff use this alongside the information from their initial observations to help them

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who attend

identify each child's starting points and to plan accordingly. Parents are encouraged to complete observations at home or share through discussion about what their child enjoys doing. The key person values this information and always takes account of it in their planning. Parents are able to record their child's progress on the 'wow wall' in the entrance hall, and the staff have noted a good response to this addition to parents' contributions. The key person for each child makes regular observations, monthly summaries and daily jottings of children engaged in their activities. This information is used alongside guidance documents to identify extremely well-targeted next steps in learning for each child. Children who are aged between two and three years have their progress recorded through a summative assessment. The observations made by the key person and information from parents contribute to this summary. Each child's progress is

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who attend

monitored carefully because the staff work exceptionally well together. They regularly review their processes to ensure they continue to meet the children's needs, and this contributes to the rapid progress they are making in their learning and development.

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who attend

Children benefit greatly from the staff's very effective involvement in their play and activities. They never hesitate to sit with the children to play or offer to read a story to them. The children thoroughly enjoy their input and because they are genuinely interested, the children's learning is supported extremely well. Staff sit with the babies, encouraging them to be curious about the toys. Babies are very keen to have a look at the boxes of toys bought down from the shelf by the staff. Toddlers become completely engaged in familiar stories. They join in enthusiastically with the familiar text and giggle with anticipation of the flaps on the pages being lifted to reveal hidden pictures. Older toddlers sit with the staff enjoying their mark making and proudly show visitors to their room how well they can control a pen to make straight and zig-zag lines. Pre-school children take part in a lotto game with a member of staff. This game promotes lively

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who attend

discussion about the animals on the cards, pets and toys the children have at home. The whole staff team are skilled in enabling children to be confident to speak and to share their ideas. They show a keen interest in what the children are doing, which supports their growing confidence through providing specific praise and commenting on how well they tried at their chosen task.

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who attend

In this nursery, the staff actively encourage children's personal, social and emotional development. They take time to support them to share, to work together and to think of others. They explain clearly, which helps the children to understand the possible impact of their actions on others. For example, during the activities involving water and wellington boots linked to 'Welly Wednesday', the children are encouraged to share the resources, such as buckets, paintbrushes and water sprayers. All children in this nursery demonstrate a very clear enthusiasm for taking part in all the activities, and older children are becoming very independent. For example, they make choices about what activities they do. Children who paint pictures choose to draw pictures of their families on top of the painted picture. The staff facilitate this by supplying felt-tipped pens. Children are extremely well prepared for their eventual move on to school. They have use of the

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who attend

nursery gym which is fitted with equipment to promote their physical skills. They bring a PE kit to change into ready for these activities. As the time draws closer for them to go to school, the children bring in packed lunches. This careful preparation in the nursery, as well as inviting the teachers from the local schools to visit, contributes to this significant move being successful for the children.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children show a strong sense of belonging and well-being in this nursery. They benefit greatly from the enthusiastic interaction from the staff, who offer gentle reassurance and clear explanations about the expectations for behaviour as required. Children behave very well because they are provided with a rich range of activities that are interesting to them. The staff are aware of appropriate strategies to manage children's behaviour. They work very consistently to support children's personal, social and emotional development in relation to building relationships and managing their feelings. Babies and younger children settle to sleep readily, snuggling down and enjoying a back rub from the staff. Children are kept safe because they are checked regularly while asleep. Baby room staff make very regular checks and the older children who sleep after lunch are supervised by the staff until they are all awake. When children wake up they smile at the staff, refreshed and

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

ready for more fun activities. The staff are extremely attentive to their needs; they pick them up and talk to them all the time, using soothing and gentle voices and very positive facial expressions, which helps children to feel secure.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Older children are very confident to move freely between their activities; they ask for items they want and they enthusiastically take up the staff's suggestions of reading a story or playing a game together. When children are ready to move between the rooms in the nursery, they are very well prepared. The key person and their parents talk together in detail every day about their routines and progress, and this includes the preparation for the change of room. The children spend time together during the day, both inside and outside. This enables them to see their siblings and relatives, and supports them to be confident in a different room. The younger babies also join the older children outside on a daily basis. When children are preparing to move, they go for visits to the other room and the key persons liaise closely with each other and with the child's parents to ensure the move goes well. This close working partnership within the nursery and between the

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

nursery and parents means that very close relationships are built so that any changes to individual children's needs are managed very well and are decided upon together.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The nursery staff are committed to meeting each child's unique care needs. The staff seek very detailed information from parents about babies' routines at home, and they work hard to reflect these in the nursery. For example, their feeding, changing and sleep times are managed individually. The nursery chef has a very good knowledge of each child's dietary needs because she works closely with the nursery staff. This ensures that each baby's weaning stages are managed very well. Children throughout the nursery enjoy their freshly prepared meals and snacks. They sit together in small groups, and meal times are encouraged to be social occasions where children are able to ask for more, eat at their own pace and chat together. Older children are able to be independent in the bathroom. They clearly demonstrate that they know the routines for washing their hands before meal times. The children all have access to the nursery garden which is very well appointed

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

with resources and different areas for play. Children have plenty of space to run around and to get involved in their games. The staff ensure children have access to the outside every day and they are able to move freely between the inside and outside areas as they wish for some of the sessions. They are supported to be independent when putting their shoes and coats on. The staff give lots of praise when they try and are successful in managing their zips and buttons. Children understand about the changes in the seasons and the weather, watching the leaves as they fall from the trees and talking with the staff about feeling warm with their coats on.

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provision

The owner of the nursery works very closely with the staff team to ensure that each child's needs are met. They demonstrate a very strong understanding of the learning and development requirements. This understanding is constantly reviewed and evaluated through team meetings where they scrutinise their planning, observation and assessment of each child's learning to identify any gaps and any changes that may be required, and they make changes to their practice accordingly. This strong team working contributes to children receiving a consistent approach throughout the nursery. The owner is very effective in monitoring the quality of teaching her staff demonstrate. She plans regular in- house training and supports them to attend training courses and workshops. However, there is scope to extend the already excellent monitoring through supporting the staff team in observing each other and having discussions to identify how they are working with

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provision

Safeguarding is given high priority. The owner and staff team show an extensive understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Children are protected because the premises are secure. All visitors and parents are greeted on arrival. The nursery garden has large areas of safety surface and retractable awnings to provide shade from the sun. Robust procedures are in place to ensure the recruitment and retention of suitable members of staff. The owner is very familiar with employment law and takes advice to ensure the correct procedures are followed in relation to employment issues. The staff team are aware of the importance of following the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures in the event of any child protection concerns. They maintain close supervision of the children at all times while allowing them to consider the possible risks involved in their activities, and all accidents are recorded in detail. The nursery staff take

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provision

decisive action to reduce risks to children. Risk assessments are completed for all aspects of the nursery environment and for specific outings and activities, as well as issues relating to children's health. For example, steps are taken to reduce the risk of cross- infection during a bout of sickness. Parents are informed of this and for the duration of the sickness bug are asked to wait in the entrance area while the staff collect the children from their nursery room. The child's key person brings them to their parents to ensure the highly effective lines of communication can be maintained.

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provision

The strong partnerships with parents mean that their contribution of information from home is fully valued and supports their children's learning and development. Parents are warmly welcomed into the nursery for special events, such as 'Daddy and me tea' and 'Mummy and me tea'. Regular parents' consultation meetings ensure that parents are kept up to date with their child's progress and that they are fully involved in their identified next steps in learning. The staff have recently involved parents in the use of a questionnaire to help identify how individual children learn, and this has prompted lots of conversations and interest from them, which helps to inform the future planning of activities for their child. The nursery has a long-standing culture of reflective practice. The owner and staff team continually look at their activity with the children and their families to ensure they are meeting their needs. Parents and children are involved in this process

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provision

because the staff send out questionnaires to parents, and comments from the children about their nursery are displayed in the entrance area. The commitment of the owner and the staff team to providing high quality and creatively planned activities and experiences ably supports children's feelings of well-being and belonging in this very well-organised nursery.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY283423 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 934872

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 77 Number of children on roll 53 Name of provider Angela Evans Date of previous inspection 23/04/2013 Telephone number 01604 771166

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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